The most common small storage unit in the seventeenth century was the rectangular box with a hinged lid. Usually made of oak and ornamented with carving, boxes offered safe-keeping for a variety of objects, such as books, documents, writing utensils, jewelry, and small items of apparel. The front of this example is richly carved with paired foliated S-scrolls and leafage. The initials of the unidentified first owner, "MH," are carved in the center.

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Citation

"Attributed to John Thurston: Box" (10.125.680) In
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/10.125.680. (March 2010)